Construction of its flagship service station by Total Jamaica Limited is slated to get under way by the end of this month and be completed in four months on land at the eastbound Old Harbour ramp of Highway 2000, St Catherine. This will bring to 58 the number of local stations in its network.

David Ducognon, outgoing managing director of Total Jamaica, spoke to the significance of its most expensive service station to date during yesterday's groundbreaking on land leased from the Jamaica Railway Corporation in front of the location of its now-dilapidated Old Harbour station.

"It demonstrates the strong commitment of Total to Jamaica and our willingness to invest strong capital in the local market and be a strong actor in Jamaica for growth and job creation. As the market leader in fuel retail sales and with a strong network across Jamaica, the Total brand has become a household name ... . We will now develop a service station which be recognised as innovative and convenient,' he declared.

The 24-hour service station will incorporate all the amenities of a full-service rest-stop facility, offering five-star French cuisine, as well as best-in-class lubricants, oils, fuels and other auto products and services.

"This service will be a representation of Total's world-class standard of service station design and operation with a state-of-the-art canopy, double-walled steel tanks and automatic gauge and leak-detection system," Ducognon disclosed.

Rudyard 'Kippy' Mears, constituency chairman for South West St Catherine, in representing the Opposition People' National Party, used the occasion to charge the investors to be mindful not to neglect the people and community of Old Harbour and its environs.

"As a representative of the people, I don't want to see this gas station being built here and all the persons who are involved in the development are coming from Kingston or Montego Bay or even France. I would love to know that the people of Old Harbour benefit from day one.

"So I will be in contact and I will be looking out for the people and, again I say, welcome to this development."